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Lore
In Skullport, there isn't much room for growth or new beginnings. The city is static. Desloate. Unchanging. It is abandoned by all hope and home to some of the most vicious criminals and thugs in all of Faerûn. Despite all that, it seems like in the depths of the city of despair, a small adventurer's guild, called the Аboveboard Underground Mercenary Company (Above & Under for short) is hiring new blood, those hopeful, naive fools that have not yet understood their place in the world. Not much is known about how Above & Under came to be. For whatever reason, its members are yet to be robbed, beaten up, shanked or murdered, an occurrence, or rather non-occurrence, that is quite unusual for Skullport. Guild headquarters The guild is located in the heart of Skullport's lower level, located on the first floor of a decrepit building in the heart of Skullport's lower level seems to be in a permanent state of tidy disarray. The floorboards, creaky and ramshackle, poke through the carpets and the walls are peppered with slashes and holes courtesy of previous tenants. The front door, above which hangs a sign pegging it as the headquarters of the "Above & Under" adventuring guild, opens up to the reception desk and the backroom behind it, sometimes manned by Excellence, the guild secretary. Further inside, the hall expands into an open area, peppered by old, grimy chairs arranged in front of an old fireplace. The waiting room. The staircase on the left leads to the living quarters, while a door on the right conceals the guild treasury. The treasury door has a sliding peephole in the middle, through which a pair of tired eyes sometimes sizes up passing adventurers. The dust and cobwebs seem to mostly be gone, except for a few spots on the ceiling that are too hard to reach. The living quarters can be found on the second floor of the "Above & Under" building. Long, claustrophobic corridors are punctuated on each side by discoloured doors. The rooms themselves are tiny closet-sized cells, with a tiny grimy window looking out into the city. Guild staff The guild currently staffs 3 people. 1) Excellence is the guild majordomo. 2) Rocco is the guild peacekeeper. 3) '''Tun '''is the guild's quartermaster. Skullport Skullport is a grim, cutthroat outpost of civilization where adventurers can resupply and take refuge. Yet few souls of the surface world have any clue how to reach this shadowy reflection of Waterdeep, making any talk of the Port of Shadow akin to a rumour, or a warning – which is just how its denizens like it. Overview Skullport fills an immense cavern. The town has three levels: a lower level, a middle level, and a top level. A stone bridge connects the southern end of the town to an island around which flows the sluggish River Sargauth. The island is called Skull Island, and atop this island stands a fortress garrisoned by minions of the beholder crime lord known as Xanathar. The town's key features are summarized below: • Everything has a deteriorated, haphazard look to it. Tightly packed buildings of wood and stone are piled atop one another, creating three levels: a lower level (often called the street level), a middle level, and an upper level. • Unnamed thoroughfares wind through the town at street level. Above this labyrinth run mazes of catwalks made from the wood of old shipwrecks. Old rigging is used to suspend the creaky catwalks. • The 90-foot-high cavern ceiling is covered with a forest of stalactites. • Most of the lanterns that once illuminated Skullport are gone, turned to rust or stolen by thieves long ago. Denizens carry their own light sources or rely on darkvision to see. Flameskulls are often mistaken from a distance for bobbing torches as they drift through town. What dwells here? The Port of Shadow has been held, claimed, or occupied over the years by duergar, drow, dwarves, crazed wizards, slavers, and pirates. Currently, the town is under the sway of Xanathar, who has turned the forlorn settlement into a haven for its criminal organization. Few folk have permanent residences in the Port of Shadow, and most of the local businesses are presently shut down. The people who do remain in business pay Xanathar for protection. Adventurers can find food, drink, shelter, and supplies here – or perhaps a quick death, if they antagonize the locals. Flameskulls Thirteen ancient flameskulls haunt Skullport. These entities, which have defended the town since its founding, are all that remain of the Sargauth Enclave, a settlement of Netherese wizards. The flameskulls consider themselves the true rulers of Skullport, but they have lost touch with reality, their minds drifting in and out of the present and the past. They rarely communicate, and when they do it is often in a dead language. The guild The guild is located in the middle of the Lower level of Skullport. We use the Dungeon of the Mad Mage version of Skullport. Forgotten Realms lore If you're interested in Faerûn lore, go to the Forgotten Realms wikia.